Regulatory push for more collateral not so much of an issue in hedge fund world

Concerns that the regulatory push for more collateral will affect the viability of investment or trading strategies will be less of an issue in the hedge fund world, as the industry has a long history of pledging sufficient collateral, and the capital requirements are already built into the strategies, claimed Chris Dopp, senior VP at the exchange group Eurex, one of the sponsors of the recent Opalesque Canada Roundtable.

He also said: "It will be more of an issue for traditional money managers, where the largest investors have often not needed to post collateral. That said, the increased capital requirements will have an impact on return expectations, but they will not eliminate the viability of the strategy."

According to IntegriData, "central clearing, a major element of the Dodd-Frank Act, requires OTC trades to be matched in a third-party clearinghouse much like exchange-traded futures contracts. The new regulations press for greater efficiency by means of strict time limits for the collateral process and dispute resolution. Fund managers must reconcile multiple counterparties, make margin calls and optimize their use of collateral. They need to keep tra......................